A=Mark
B=Lucy

A: I don’t know why Yelsin makes much
big noise in major English newspapers and magazines.

B: That has something to do with（与……有关）reporters who crave to make big noise.

A: He appears in most newspapers in
recent years. And news about him always seems to be front-page news（头版头条）.

B: Reporters take great pride in（感到骄傲）their news coverage, and front-page news is the
only thing they seem to aim at（最终目标）.

A: Talking about reporters, it always
seems that they tend to exaggerate things: they make small things appear big.

B: Big talk（吹牛）,
I’d say. They are cut out for（天生适合）talking big.

A: They should be faithful in reporting
things.

B: That’s their job to make big noise, or they may lose news coverage.
I know a reporter. His name is Frank. He makes big bucks（赚大钱）by making big noise（报导重大新闻）for several major newspapers.

A: I’ve heard about him. A friend
of mine told me that he himself is big noise. Many people call him “a fat
cat”（大款）.

B: He is a fat cat. And he’s a big-time
spender, too（出手很阔的人）. He splashes his money about（挥霍钱）like anything.

A: But many rich people don’t behave
that way. They are pinching pennies（节俭）.

B: But Frank is different. He gets
a lot of pleasure in spending（从……中得到很大的乐趣）money.
Frank is not only a big-time spender, but also big with most notables in Chicago.
He is a white-haired boy（受宠的人）among them.

A: Nothing to be surprised about that.
He helps them a lot in increasing their popularity. Social celebrities（社会名人） depend their popularity on reporters, to a certain
degree（从某种意义程度说）.

B: I can’t agree more（再同意不过）. It’s reporters who help make them know.

A: Let’s stop talking about social
celebrities（社会名人）. I want to be a big-time spender（出手阔的人）today.

B: Yeah. Let’s go on a binge. I feel
like a million dollars（特别开心）today.

A: Yea, I did. But I don’t see a point
in splurging in a place like Hilton. Don’t be bird-brained and let our money
go down the drain（把钱白白浪费）like that.

B: I’m disappointed. I didn’t know
you are a chicken guy（胆小鬼）.

A: Listen! We can go to the Grand
Hotel. And there is a number of A-class（一流的）night clubs around the place.

B: All right. I’ll follow yours.

---------------------------------------------

A: It was really great fun. I haven’t
had such a big time（玩得很开心）before.

B: But I didn’t enjoy for long. When
I got home, my father bit my head off and was giving me a good piece of his
mind（教训）.

A: What for? Was it because you late
again?

B: Not really. I had had one too many（喝多了）and he put down his foot（坚决反对）and insisted on（坚持）my not going
out again. He doesn’t allow me to drink.

A: He must be a stick in the mud（老古董）. He should know that we are not in his generation.

B: There is a generation gap（代沟）. They can’t seem to understand us.

A: You shouldn’t give in（屈服）. That’ll be the thin edges（开头事小，后果严重）.

B: Well, he was bits and pieces. I
didn’t have the heart（不忍心）to get on his
nerves and drive him mad.

A: I know. I know. But you should
bet him know that we are…

B: I’ll have a talk with him in a
placid mood（心平气和）. I might be able to convince him of what I think.
But it takes time for him to see eye to eye（看法一致）with us young people. But one thing my father will never
agree with us.

A: Something about modern things?

B: No. About the way we splash our
money about（挥霍钱）. He even thinks that eating out will bleed us
white（榨干血汗）.

A: He’s old-fashioned（过时的）. He doesn’t have a sense of modern way（现代方式）of consumption.

B: We can’t force old people to accept
what we enjoy doing, of course.

A: May I ask you a question?

B: Sure. Go ahead.

A: Does your father object to（反对）your dating different men?

B: How can I know? I’ve never done
that.

A: But I still remember your telling
me something about your blind date（男女的初次约会）. You said that you didn’t give the man a tumble（不理睬）on your blind date, didn’t you?

B: But that doesn’t have anything
to do with（与……有关）dating different men.

A: I’m sorry. What I mean is…

B: Is what?

A: Well, I mean do you like dating?

B: Yes, I do. I like going out with
the one whom I seem to fall for（爱上）.